Match Preview:
Series: New Zealand vs England
Venue: Bay Oval - Mount Maunganui, New Zealand
Date: November 21, 2019
Time: 3:30 a.m IST
Match Details:
The first Test between England and New Zealand will be held at the Bay Oval at Mount Maunganui. The series is not part of the ICC Test World Championships, and teams, thus, will be eager to try out a few new faces. Dom Sibley will make his debut for England in the first Test, while Kane Williamson returns for New Zealand after being rested for the recent T20I series.
This will be New Zealand's first Test series after they managed to draw their last series against Sri Lanka, while England too will be hoping to make a strong statement after their inconsistent show in the recent Ashes.
Weather Conditions:
There will be a little humidity around Bay Oval in the evening, but the forecast otherwise is excellent for a game of cricket. The last three days, in particular, will be clear with little to no chance of rain.
Pitch Conditions:
This will be the first Test to be held at this venue, but going by the trend in limited over games, it is expected that seamers will have a huge role to play here. Fast bowlers will fancy bowling at the wicket, especially upfront, and it should not be a surprise if the team that wins the toss opt to bowl first.
New Zealand:
Kane Williamson ruled out Lockie Ferguson's debut for
Match Preview:
Series: New Zealand vs England
Venue: Bay Oval - Mount Maunganui, New Zealand
Date: November 21, 2019
Time: 3:30 a.m IST
Match Details:
The first Test between England and New Zealand will be held at the Bay Oval at Mount Maunganui. The series is not part of the ICC Test World Championships, and teams, thus, will be eager to try out a few new faces. Dom Sibley will make his debut for England in the first Test, while Kane Williamson returns for New Zealand after being rested for the recent T20I series.
This will be New Zealand's first Test series after they managed to draw their last series against Sri Lanka, while England too will be hoping to make a strong statement after their inconsistent show in the recent Ashes.
Weather Conditions:
There will be a little humidity around Bay Oval in the evening, but the forecast otherwise is excellent for a game of cricket. The last three days, in particular, will be clear with little to no chance of rain.
Pitch Conditions:
This will be the first Test to be held at this venue, but going by the trend in limited over games, it is expected that seamers will have a huge role to play here. Fast bowlers will fancy bowling at the wicket, especially upfront, and it should not be a surprise if the team that wins the toss opt to bowl first.
New Zealand:
Kane Williamson ruled out Lockie Ferguson's debut for this game, with Trent Boult, Neil Wagner and Tim Southee to be the three seamers for the clash.
Tom Latham, Jeet Raval, Kane Williamson (captain), Ross Taylor, Henry Nicholls, BJ Watling, Colin de Grandhomme, Mitchell Santner, Tim Southee, Neil Wagner, Trent Boult.
England:
Dom Sibley is all set to open the batting in his Test debut alongside Rory Burns. Ollie Pope will take his spot at the number six position, with Sam Curran, Stuart Broad and Jofra Archer being the three seamers.
Rory Burns, Dom Sibley, Joe Denly, Joe Root (captain), Ben Stokes, Ollie Pope, Jos Buttler, Sam Curran, Jofra Archer, Jack Leach, Stuart Broad.
Top Picks:
Wicket-keeper: Jos Buttler (9 credits)
The Englishman is one of the best wicket-keeper batsmen in the longest format in the world currently. He has scored close to 2000 Test runs in 36 matches with the help of one hundred and 15 fifties. He struck a fine 110 in the recent tour match against New Zealand A, and will be eager to carry his form forward.
Batsman: Kane Williamson (10.5 credits)
The player is ranked number three in the world currently, and averages a stunning 52.22 in Test matches. He has 20 hundreds and 30 fifties to his name, which is an indicator of his conversion rate. Once he gets past the 50-run mark, more often than not, he gets a ton, and he is, thus, a valuable player to have in the Dream11 team.
All-rounder: Ben Stokes (10.5 credits)
The all-rounder was England's World Cup final hero, and played yet another humdinger of an innings in the Ashes, where he helped his side to a memorable win at Headingely. He scored two hundreds against Australia, and has re-invented himself as a batter in the recent past to emerge as a true match-winner.
Bowler: Trent Boult (9 credits)
Trent Boult took eight wickets in the series against Sri Lanka to move to 254 wickets in his Test career thus far. On unhelpful conditions, he got the ball to talk, and could be a real threat in the seam-friendly conditions here. He is sixth in the current ICC Test match rankings, and could cause considerable damage against an iffy English top order
Captaincy: Kane Williamson, Ben Stokes
